The industrial revolution for the management of benign prostate obstruction: worldwide publication trends for surgical and medical therapies over the past two decades

Abstract

Introduction Research for management of benign prostate obstruction (BPO) for adult males remains a cornerstone of urology research. This landscape has witnessed the rise and fall of multiple therapies, both surgical and medical. Our aim was to formally evaluate the publication trends for these interventions over the past 20 years. Material and methods A systematic search was performed in a Cochrane style. Data was analysed using the independent t-test and Pearson's correlation coefficient (SPSS version 24). To observe changes in trends more effectively, data was sub-divided into two time periods: 1997 to 2006 and 2007 to 2016. Results Over the past 20 years, 4236 papers have been published concerning for BPO (surgical, n = 2177 and medical, n = 2059). For surgical treatments, these included articles on monopolar transurethral resection of prostate (TURP) (n = 340), bipolar TURP (n = 260), HoLEP (n = 293) and Greenlight laser (n = 395). For medical therapies, these included alpha blockers (848), 5-alpha reductase inhibitors (n = 618) and PDE5I (n = 91). Between the two time periods the change was +18.8% (p = 0.108) for monopolar TURP, +497.1% (<0.001) for bipolar TURP, -54.5% (p <0.001 for prostatic stents and -81.9% (p <0.001) for transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT). There was over 290% rise in number of publications related to BPO laser surgery (p <0.001). For medical interventions, the change was +11.5% (p = 0.397) for alpha blockers, -1.9% (p = 0.867), +49.0%( 0.122) for phytotherapy, +2075% (p <0.001) for PDEI and +2375.0% (p <0.001) for combined alpha blocker and anti-muscarinics. Conclusions Interventions for BPO have undergone a high volume of research. In particular, minimally invasive laser surgeries and combined medical therapies have seen significant expansion.

Laser procedures in the treatment of BPH: a bibliometric study

“…In accordance with Nettleton et al, we found a growth of scientific research on laser-based therapies for BPH [ 23 ]. Over the last decade, articles on laser procedures in the treatment of BPH were published mainly in urology and nephrology journals experiencing a slight impact factor increase from 2010 to 2015 (Fig.…”

“…Meanwhile, bibliometric analyses have been established in Urology to examine the top cited articles [ 18 ], authorship developments [ 19 ], worldwide distribution and exchange of scientific knowledge [ 6 , 20 , 21 ], and citation trends in general [ 8 ]. A rising trend in the field of urological laser procedures has already been described for urolithiasis [ 22 ] and Nettleton et al have shown a notable rise of publications on laser surgery for BPH [ 23 ]. We introduced the first bibliometric analysis thus far focusing on publication origin, authorship, journals and citations regarding laser-based BPH therapy concerning various global aspects.…”